


Every Girl Crazy 'Bout a Sharp-Dressed Man

by MeanderingWits



Series: Amechu Drabbles [5]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, Mentions of Hong Kong, Nyotalia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-15 08:06:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11226804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeanderingWits/pseuds/MeanderingWits
Summary: You never know when someone will notice you. Also, a nice suit always helps.





	Every Girl Crazy 'Bout a Sharp-Dressed Man

**Author's Note:**

  * For [godcomplexfics (godtiercomplex)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/godtiercomplex/gifts).



> Filled for the ["Fashion"](https://amechuprompts.tumblr.com/post/161436906798/theme-fashion-june-4th-17th-2017-our-theme) theme for AmeChuPrompts!
> 
> This one is for Kei, who recently graduated and who has been super awesome in trying to get us brave and few Amechu fans together. I saw that you wanted to read some fem!America, so I hope this little drabble delivered!

_Teenagers these days!_  
  
That was the overarching theme of the angry thoughts that whizzed through Yao's head as he waited, and waited, and WAITED. He was not a patient person by nature -- in fact, what patience he did have was the result of nearly five decades of life experience -- but he tended to be even less patient with his family members than he would, say, the Greek shipping magnate met last week over lunch. That guy had several excuses going for him: he was foreign, the meeting was to take place in Shenzhen not long after the man flew into Hong Kong, and Yao had been warned of the man's reputation for tardiness so he had taken several books and reports to keep him occupied.  
  
(Also the man liked cats. Yao could get along with a man who liked cats.)  
  
His younger brothers and sisters, on the other hand, were held to a higher standard. He guided them, if not practically raised them (especially by example!), himself after all, so they had absolutely no excuse to keep him waiting like this! Especially not Jia Long. Granted, all that time in England probably fried the boy's brain of proper manners and appropriate etiquette toward esteemed elders, but it had been several years since the boy returned home and Yao's training should have put him back on the right path by now!  
  
As the market square's clock chimed 3 in the afternoon, Yao switched out of his Pokemon Go window on his phone and back to the text messaging app. Fifty messages! And not a single reply! Not even a simple, "I'm on my way, Elder Brother!" Yao was already planning punishments for the boy. More study time, definitely. And no more candy!  
  
Another hour passed. And, quite frankly, Yao was at his boiling point. He had already caught all the available pokemon in the area, established himself as the unquestioned gym leader, and still hadn't received an answer to his now 100 messages. The fact that he was also approached by several police officers for sitting on a bench for several hours did not help his mood at all.  
  
(The cat in the window of the fabric shop did lift his mood a bit. A bit. But not by much!)  
  
He didn't know where Jia Long was. He didn't care where Jia Long was. Yao was going to find him and make him think on his actions as he weeded Yao's gardens. All of them. Including the mini rice paddy!  
  
Glaring at his phones screen angrily, he almost missed the thud of dropped luggage in front of him. He, however, could not miss a woman's voice saying in loud American English, "Oh. My. God."  
  
He blinked as his eyes refocused on what was in front of him.  
  
Well, there was luggage. Extremely _tacky_ luggage. If the accent didn't clue him in, the bags certainly would. The rolling suitcase shell was emblazoned with an American flag, while the other dropped bag was dark blue with white star patches all over it. He also noticed a small red bag strapped to the duffel bag that was in the shape of a moose wearing a strange hat with a red leaf on it. All of these items were at the feet of some very nice feet ( _red toenail polish_ ) in white high-heeled sandals.  
  
He allowed his gaze to travel up. On the way, he noticed long legs in capri jeans, a red scarf tied around curvy hips, and a sleeveless white polo that....Well. Yao quickly shot his gaze up lest he be caught staring at some impressive...assets. The large camera that hung around her neck only helped draw his eyes to...that particular spot.  
  
She was blonde and blue-eyed and Yao wanted to laugh at the stereotype. Definitely a nice face, though she would look better if she wasn't gaping at him like a fish.  
  
"Yes?" he asked, putting away his phone. He might as well head home. Maybe Jia Long was there the entire time playing Overwatch or Minecraft or Warcraft or whatever game he liked to play and forgot about him. It wasn't unheard of.  
  
She snapped her mouth shut and a red blush suffused her cheeks. Then she bit her plump lower lip and Yao began to wonder if sitting in the sun on this bench for hours had damaged his brain in some way. She was likely some tourist who ended up lost and needed directions back to Hong Kong. He did not need his mind helpfully pointing out that she was wearing lip gloss. What was he, Jia Long's age? He was way too old to be panting after some pretty little young thing.  
  
"Okay, I know this is going to seem weird--" Yao raised an eyebrow at that. "But I want to take a picture of you. No, wait, I _need_ to take a picture of you." She helpfully raised her camera up -- don't look there, Yao -- and he was surprised to see an excited, almost laser-like focus from those pretty blue eyes. "You have got to be the hottest guy I've seen in ages and I cannot let you go without getting some shots of you because you are absolutely gorgeous!"  
  
Yao...didn't know what to say to that. Especially after she started complimenting his suit (handmade and tailored, of course), his shoes (from England), his watch (Rolex), and his hair. She then started flitting around him like a butterfly, muttering to herself about lines and fabric contrasts and God and perfection. Yao made a mental note to thank his brother Chao for setting him up with that tailor in Macau. Who knew a simple three-piece suit could spur this kind of reaction?  
  
Before long and before he knew it, she was instructing him to make various poses as she moved around for "the perfect shot -- no wait, move right there, the light's perfect, there! Wonderful! How about a different expression?"  
  
There was always some other motive to people that were not his family in interacting with him. A man with means like him quickly realized how cynical most relationships were. An older man like him with bank accounts stuffed with money did have his choice of partners. But this young woman didn't know that. Nevertheless, she picked him out and pursued him.  
  
Yao didn't know for certain if he was being hit on, but he was enjoying the attention.  
  
It was extremely flattering.

 

* * *

  
  
He found out her name was Eleanor Jones. ("Call me Ellie! 'Eleanor' is so stuffy. Only my British cousin calls me that.") She was indeed American ("Kinda obvious, huh?"), in her mid-twenties, and was in China on some unexpected business.  
  
"I'm a freelance photojournalist by trade, but I do some fashion photography on the side," she said idly. By this point, she had put away her camera and lenses, joining him on the bench and enjoying a vanilla ice cream cone. (He declined her offer of a similar cone, but did accept a chocolate fudge bar.) "I'm not bad at it and it does help pad the bank account in between assignments, you know? Anyway, I've got some fashion designers for friends, and one of them is doing a big show in Hong Kong. Headlining a whole event with dozens of models and _everything_. Thing is, his usual guy ended up eating something funny. I was doing a story in Japan about whaling when I get a call from Feliciano who's absolutely bawling and practically incomprehensible while his brother is screaming cusses in the background. So I just jumped on a plane and here I am!"  
  
He smiled at that. "To be so young! I can't just zip off like that in my field."  
  
"What do you do?"  
  
"Business," he said simply. She tilted her head in curiosity. He tried to ignore the little bit of vanilla ice cream at the corner of her mouth. "I deal mainly with exporting and shipping. It's not that exciting."  
  
"Nonsense! Business makes the world go 'round. There are tons of interesting stories about international trade."  
  
By the time they parted ways another two hours later, after the sky had darkened and the night crowds were tiredly moving on to the streets, they had somehow covered everything from Zheng He to labor regulations to hotel sites in Guam to the pepper trade. They traded numbers, flirty smiles, and a promise to meet again.  
  
Yao was in a bright enough mood that he didn't even punish Jia Long later that night.  
  
...Or rather, Yao did punish him, but only after the young man asked, "Did you meet a woman or something? ...Wait. You DID, old man?"

 

* * *

   
  
A week later, after much consideration, he decided to give Ellie a call. He needed a date to a business gala and, well, why not. Sure, he was 47 and she was a little over 20 years younger, but they were both adults! And he couldn't deny their chemistry. Ellie was young and more than a little silly, but she was quite intelligent, with an eye for beauty and opportunity that he hadn't found in quite a long time.  
  
Plus, he'd be dealing with the walking headache that was Arthur Kirkland, so he could appreciate some more cheerful company.  
  
He pointedly ignored Jia Long's comments on him "finally getting a younger mistress to pamper." It wasn't like that.  
  
Ellie was still in Hong Kong and, it turns out, absolutely free that night. The fact that he decided to buy her an elegant black dress had nothing to do with wanting to see her in it!  
  
...It was just that the only fancy dress she packed was better suited for a cocktail party than for a more formal occasion.

Really. _That was the_ _only reason_.

The fact that she looked gorgeous and smiled like he handed her the moon and insisted on dancing with him around the dressing room as soon as she put it (after he insisted on seeing her in at least a dozen other gowns) on had _nothing to do with it_.

**Author's Note:**

> I had to stop here because it was getting a little long and because I've had some pain in my right wrist and weak grip strength for the past week, which has affected my writing time. Kids, be sure to exercise your wrists and do carpal tunnel exercises! Don't be like me!
> 
> I may continue on this theme and this particular AU because, I don't know, I kinda like the scenario. Also I probably spent too much time looking at pictures of Hu Bing. (It was worth it.)
> 
> Title is a reference to ZZ Top's 1983 song ["Sharp-Dressed Man"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wRHBLwpASw). (Warning: Intense 80s.)


End file.
